Actually, hors d'oeuvres is the French term for appetizers, or first courses; the Italians call them aperitvi and antipasti.
Traditionally eating a meal takes hours in Italy and this is because it can have a lot more than three courses.
You have to pace yourself, and have long pauses in between courses.
The antipasti course may come an hour or so before the next course and it is one to be savoured, with red wine or perhaps white (the Italians favour reds, which have antioxidant properties) or even amaro which is a pleasant herb liqueur.
Aperitivi or antipasti courses may consist of several items or a variation on a theme.
For example there may be crostini or bruschetta with different toppings, perhaps olive paste, tuna fish or tomato based, served with black and green olives and plenty of extra virgin olive oil.
One of my favourite antipasti dishes is simple grilled vegetables, perhaps Florentine fennel, with globe artichokes, large mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers with aubergine (eggplant) slices.
The beauty of Italian dishes is the fresh produce they use as a matter of course (excuse the pun).
Seafood such as shrimp and mussels are often on the aperitivi menus.
The large stuffed mushrooms are wonderful, stuffed with bruschetta or crostini crumbs, flat-leaved parsley and Parmesan cheese with a hint of truffles.
If you are a confirmed carnivore then you may go for the melon balls which could have been soaked in red wine or port beforehand and young tender sprues of marinated asparagus wrapped in prosciutto.
There is often a selection of meats and cheeses on platters, although these are not classed as aperitivi.
There might be pastrami wrapped around a filling of mascarpone and figs however, which is classed as an aperitivo.
Salads will be on offer during this course, and can be dressed with balsamico di Modena which imparts a delightful flavour to even the most boring green leaves, especially when they are liberally laced with extra virgin olive oil.
If there is salt on the table it will be Italian sea salt, perhaps harvested off the coasts of Sicily, and there will certainly a pepper grinder for you to grind your own black pepper.
Unlike the French the Italians don't tend to go for heavy pâtés only those made from black or green olives, so after light aperitivi and a long pause, you are ready to discover the delights of the next course, which may very well be a pasta dish but not the main course.
Traditionally eating a meal takes hours in Italy and this is because it can have a lot more than three courses.
You have to pace yourself, and have long pauses in between courses.
The antipasti course may come an hour or so before the next course and it is one to be savoured, with red wine or perhaps white (the Italians favour reds, which have antioxidant properties) or even amaro which is a pleasant herb liqueur.
Aperitivi or antipasti courses may consist of several items or a variation on a theme.
For example there may be crostini or bruschetta with different toppings, perhaps olive paste, tuna fish or tomato based, served with black and green olives and plenty of extra virgin olive oil.
One of my favourite antipasti dishes is simple grilled vegetables, perhaps Florentine fennel, with globe artichokes, large mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers with aubergine (eggplant) slices.
The beauty of Italian dishes is the fresh produce they use as a matter of course (excuse the pun).
Seafood such as shrimp and mussels are often on the aperitivi menus.
The large stuffed mushrooms are wonderful, stuffed with bruschetta or crostini crumbs, flat-leaved parsley and Parmesan cheese with a hint of truffles.
If you are a confirmed carnivore then you may go for the melon balls which could have been soaked in red wine or port beforehand and young tender sprues of marinated asparagus wrapped in prosciutto.
There is often a selection of meats and cheeses on platters, although these are not classed as aperitivi.
There might be pastrami wrapped around a filling of mascarpone and figs however, which is classed as an aperitivo.
Salads will be on offer during this course, and can be dressed with balsamico di Modena which imparts a delightful flavour to even the most boring green leaves, especially when they are liberally laced with extra virgin olive oil.
If there is salt on the table it will be Italian sea salt, perhaps harvested off the coasts of Sicily, and there will certainly a pepper grinder for you to grind your own black pepper.
Unlike the French the Italians don't tend to go for heavy pâtés only those made from black or green olives, so after light aperitivi and a long pause, you are ready to discover the delights of the next course, which may very well be a pasta dish but not the main course.
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